Taijiquan - as a martial art for self defence

Taijiquan, when trained well, is and always has been a powerful martial art. But it takes time and practice to become suitable for
self defence.

The art
uses relative softness of the muscles to develop the correct structure and
natural alignment of the skeleton for whole body movement. Many martial
arts rely only on localized muscle strength and speed, which of course
means the stronger, faster person would always be victorious.

However in Taijiquan, force is used and applied intelligently and with the right timing to maximize efficiency.

We train the body's sensitivity to
movement, forces and physical pressure from the training partner with an
exercise known as Push Hands (Tui Shou). From push hands and form practise, one develops certain
physical force skills / "energies" or methods of using force (Jin) such as the most commonly known eight:

Peng (ward-off) 掤

Lu (roll back / stroke) 捋

Ji (squeeze / compress) 擠

An (Press) 按

Cai (pluck / pull down) 採

Lie (split / break) 挒

Zhou (Elbow) 肘

Kao (Lean / Bump) 靠

As well as many more...

These
are all supported by 'Peng Jin', a firm yet flexible quality to one's
structural shape, comparable to an inflated ball or a bow. This is
developed from constant structural alignment of the legs, torso and
arms, through years of practise.

Push hands is just the first
stage; a game of balance to maintain ones own centre, whilst disrupting
the opponents centre, but then students work toward a more freestyle approach where they learn to improvise the learned skills and techniques. To learn Tai Chi martial art it is necessary
also to study and practice the solo forms to
allow the body time to move correctly and naturally, and develop the
correct structure.

When
the body is relaxed, movement can become far more efficient. Power is
not held back or disrupted by tense muscles and so can flow freely. This
eventually means that any part of the body can be used to attack or
defend.
Also, as the practitioner becomes more mentally and physically relaxed
(natural, not limp), they become more sensitive to movement, until they
can
literally feel the opponents intentions as soon as they come into
contact. This also leads to an intelligent and efficient method of combat where one does not waste time or energy fighting with an opponents strengths but to take advantage of gaps in structure, broken balance, over-extended movements or distracted attention. These cultivated skills can be put to use in 'Push hands', self defense training and free sparring.

Traditional
Taijiquan contains all manner of strikes, kicks, sweeps, locks, throws
and take-downs, but what separates it from other martial arts is the
training methods; designed to integrate the entire body whilst
maintaining a high degree of sensitivity to the opponents actions.

The Monday night 8.30pm class focuses on this martial side of training with a mixture of traditional 'push hands', partner drills, self defence techniques, applications of the form movements, and freestyle push hands / controlled sparring.The culture is one of helpfulness, politeness and consideration, and students are encouraged to give each other feedback to ensure a rewarding experience for all, and that no-one gets hurt.

In addition to the Monday class; Sunday workshops and privateone-to-one sessions are also highly recommended for those with a serious interest in developing martial ability from Taijiquan.